Grammar for IELTS: A look at Modals

A modal is a type of auxiliary verb used to show our opinion about or attitude towards something:

· to indicate how certain we are about what we’re saying

· to talk about the ability

· to talk about obligation

· to give advice

· to ask permission

· to make requests and offers

The most commonly used modal verbs are the following:

Modal verbs are different from most other verbs because they never change form and are always followed by an infinitive without ‘to’ (e.g. may know, will watch, must go, etc.). In addition, the same modal verb can be used to express different things. For example, the modal verb can may be used to talk about ability (e.g. He can speak several languages.)or to indicate how probable something is (e.g. The procedure can be painful.). 

Because of their complexity, the best way to truly understand this tricky area of English grammar is by looking at examples of modal verbs in use. Below is a list of modal verbs with example sentences that you may find especially helpful on your IELTS: 

A hedge is a word or phrase that we use to soften what we say or write. In other words, hedges help to make our statements less direct. It is commonly used in academic writing and in formal conversation. Hedges can also be used to indicate different levels of certainty, and they often involve using modal verbs: 

• It could be that… 
• One could argue that… 
• The answer may be that… 
• Maybe we should…
 

Keep checking our blog for our next Grammar for IELTS post on conditionals!